Ferrari
Charles Leclerc will start on pole for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas. (Ferrari Photo)
Formula 1

Leclerc Snags COTA Pole Ahead Of Norris & Hamilton

October 20, 2023

Charles Leclerc earned the pole for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix to notch his third pole of the season.

Pacing Austin, Texas’ Circuit of The Americas, Leclerc wheeled his Ferrari to a fastest time of 1:34.723 seconds, clearing the McLaren of Lando Norris by 0.13 seconds. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton slots in third. 

“I think as a team we did a great job,” said Leclerc. “We know that in this Sprint weekend it’s more important than ever to have a clean FP1 [and] we did. We had a good FP1, we started with a strong base thanks to the work the guys have done to prepare this weekend, with a car straight away feeling good.

“Then I was feeling good and the lap, I was happy throughout qualifying, the last lap in Q3, there was a bit of mistakes here and there, but I think it wasn’t easy for everybody. So, really happy to be starting on pole for Sunday.”

It looked to be another pole for champion Max Verstappen, but the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver’s time was erased in Q3 due to exceeding track limits on the 3.41-mile road course. He’ll start sixth on the grid. 

“It was a shame to miss out on pole with my deleted lap but I knew in turn 19 it would be a close call,” Verstappen said. “I made a mistake in turn one so I had to really push for the rest of the lap, I didn’t understeer or anything, I just really tried to maximize the corner and I misjudged it. Margins are very fine when you are pushing to the limit.

“Of course, it’s unfortunate but it makes the Sunday race more enjoyable. Now our focus turns to the Sprint race tomorrow, we want to win that and the race on Sunday. It’s a long weekend and a lot can happen, I’m going to have some fun out there that’s for sure.”

Carlos Saniz starts fourth with George Russell following suit it fifth. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly will start seventh with teammate Esteban Ocon qualifying eighth. 

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will start ninth while Oscar Piastri wheeled his McLaren to a 10th-place result.

Kevin Magnussen led the Haas F-1 duo in 14th with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying 16th. 

American driver Logan Sargeant starts at the tail end of the field in 20th.